When Black Royalty Minerals, a subsidiary of the Makole Group launched the Chilwavhusiku Colliery in Bronkhorstspruit in January 2018, one of its primary objectives was to create economic development in the community. Key to this was ensuring that over 80% of the colliery workforce are locals and from a supplier and procurement perspective, they meet the BBBEE criteria and are sourced from the surrounding Bronkhorstspruit community.

The South African economy’s stubborn lack of growth shows that we have still not recovered fully from the 2008 economic crisis. While the World Bank forecasts an average of 4.5% GDP growth for emerging markets, our growth forecasts are a paltry 1.1%. There are many reasons for this dismal performance, but most would agree that policy uncertainty in key areas of the economy, especially relating to transformation, is a leading factor.

The South African economy’s stubborn lack of growth shows that we have still not recovered fully from the 2008 economic crisis. While the World Bank forecasts an average of 4.5 percent GDP growth for emerging markets, our growth forecasts are a paltry 1.1 percent.

Stories of black miners who have tried and failed and tried again to participate in the mining industry are common, which is perhaps why black miners’ goals seem to no longer be part of Mining Charter debates and may explain why their voices are not prominent.

If radical socio-economic transformation – the term favored by South African politicians these days – had a face, it would probably look like one of the many new mining operations being established by new players in the industry.

A recent report by Statistics South Africa noted that mining production had increased by 6.5 per cent year-on-year, up from the annual growth of 5.2 per cent reported in October 2017.This bodes well for Black Royalty Minerals, a subsidiary of the Makole Group, which launched its first colliery in Bronkhorstspruit earlier this week.

A recent report by Statistics South Africa noted that mining production had increased by 6.5% year-on-year, up from the annual growth of 5.2% reported in October 2017. This bodes well for Black Royalty Minerals (BRM), a subsidiary of the Makole Group, which launched its first colliery in Bronkhorstspruit, a small town east of Pretoria characterised by typical socio-economic issues faced by many poor communities in South Africa.